Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi has taken a swipe at his political opponents, saying that Nigeria’s presidency is neither a retirement home nor a place where people wait for turns.
Obi was obviously referring to the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, both of who are in their 70s. Tinubu had once insisted that it was his turn to be president of Nigeria.
Obi who was in Anambra for a town hall meeting with students, a private meeting with traditional rulers and a rally said he is the right person to fix Nigeria.
Speaking at a meeting with traditional rulers of the state, Obi said: “It is not a turn-by-turn affair. This is not about turn, but about capacity and if it is about turn people like us would insist that it is our turn and should be considered.
“The job of a president is not a retirement loan, or for any kind of settlement but about uniting and rebuilding the country.
“When you look at me and my running mate, you will discover that we are young, compared with the other candidates who are older.
“When you talk about qualification, I am the most qualified and the youngest among them and this is not a job for rehabilitation of people because Nigeria needs a strong and vibrant person as president and one that is in tune with the trending and modern style of leadership so that our country would be counted among the committee of great Nations in the world.”
Reacting to insinuations that he is stingy, Obi said he owes nobody any apology for being stingy.
“They said that I am a stingy man, and I say it’s better they didn’t say that I am extravagant or that I embezzled public funds. They only said that I am stingy, and I tell you the job and the Presidency of our country need a stingy person.”
At the town hall meeting with youths, Obi noted that the issue of industrial action by university lecturers would be tackled under his administration adding that the revenue from petroleum products, which people are sharing is about the sum lecturers are demanding for.
“Why would our universities be on strike? There is no justification for that because people are interested in sharing oil money, and they are not producing anything. Come to think of it, the money that they are stealing is about the amount that can be used to fix our universities and educational system.”